The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 29, 2025
Filed:
May. 08, 2020
Ford Global Technologies, Llc, Dearborn, MI (US);
Luke Niewiadomski, Dearborn, MI (US);
George Edmund Walley, Novi, MI (US);
Arnav Sharma, Canton, MI (US);
Roger Arnold Trombley, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Frederic Christen, Walhorn, BE;
Kyle Simmons, New Boston, MI (US);
Li Xu, Northville, MI (US);
Eric Hongtei Tseng, Canton, MI (US);
FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
A system for assisting in aligning a vehicle for hitching with a trailer includes a vehicle steering system, a detection system outputting a signal including scene data of an area to a rear of the vehicle, and a controller that controls the vehicle steering system to maneuver the vehicle according to an initial alignment maneuver that positions the vehicle relative to the trailer, such that the trailer is within the area to the rear of the vehicle. The controller further receives the scene data and identifies the trailer within the area to the rear of the vehicle, derives a backing path to align a hitch ball mounted on the vehicle to a coupler of the trailer, and controls the vehicle steering system to maneuver the vehicle including reversing along the backing path.